Method of and machine for vertically coating continuous strips of roofing material



WW HJT H H C JT QJT a 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. C. OVERBURY METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR VERTICALLY COATING Filed April 6, 1926 CONTINUOUS STRIPS OF ROOFING MATERIAL NI g tum Dec. 6, 1932. F. c. OVERBURY 1,390,018

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR VERTICALLY COATING 4 CONTINUOUS STRIPS OF ROOFING MATERIAL Filed April 6, 1926 3 SheetsSheet 2 M It. I

Dec. 6, 1932. F. c. OVERBURY 1,890,018

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR VERTICALLY COATING CONTINUOUS STRIPS OF ROOFING MATERIAL Filed April 6, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Pater-rind Deal 6, 1932 hurrah ma ns FREDERICK C. OVEBB'URY, OF HILLSDlLE, JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESTN'E $.53-

SIGNMENTS, TO THE PATENT ANL LICENSING COEIPORATION, 0F BOSTQIQ', ffiidisfifi CH'USETTS, A COR-PGRATION OF MASSACHUSETTS METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR vnn'rrcsnnr COATING CONTINUOUS STRIIE OE BUOFING MATERIAL Application tied. April 3, EMS. i erial Ho. 100,158.

This invention relates to fabricated roofing units or elements generally which are intended to be laid in overlapping courses upon the roof, exposing a portion of each unit to the action of the weather.

In the manufacture of roofing units of this general class, the usual practice is to form a sheet of roofing base by felting fibrous material, such as rag or asbestos fibers or the like, the sheet being ordinarily formed on a pa erunakin machine. The sheet is made su 'ciently bi ulous to absorb a liquid waterproofing compound, such as itch, as halt or the like,--usually molten. gush a elted sheet is a common article of commerce and is known as roofing felt. It may be thoroughly impregnated with liquid bituminous or equivalent waterproofing material by dipping the sheet in a bath of the bitumen, by

pressure saturating, or by any other desired method, after which a layer ofsuitable coating material, such as high melting-point asphalt, may be applied to one or both faces of the sheet. The coated areas, while the coating is still soft and plastic, are then usually surfaced in various ways with comminuted material of one or more varieties, such as crushed slate, tile, or other ranular material, to protect the asphalt coating from the deteriorating action of the elements and to impart to the roofing unit an appearance which will give pleasing and artistic efi'ects when laid on the roof. The sheet is then cut into units of desired size and shape which are assembled into convenient packages for shipping. Roofing units made in this way have been found objectionable by reason of their relatively flat and unsubstantial appearance on a roof and because the exposed cut edges of the units present unprotected fiber-ends to the weather, with the result that considerable moisture is alternately absorbed and given ofi by the fibers, causing the units to curl and thus reducing the protection afforded by the units and detracting from the up earance of the roof.

t has been proposed to overcome these diificultics by thickening the butt portions of the roofingunit-s so that they will give a thicker and more substantial appearance to the roof as a whole, and so that the added weight at the butt will cause the unit to lie more closely against the course below and to be less liable to be raised by high wind pressures. The absorption of moisture through exposed fiber ends can be prevented by applying a coating; of impervious ma terial, such as high melting-point asphalt or the like, to the exposed edges of the unit, thus sealing the edges and efi'ec-auaily pro-- tecting the fibers from moisture. The scaling coat, beside covering the exposed edges of the unit, may also extend over one or both faces of the unit or of the butt portion there of. The addition of an extra coating to a unit made in the conventional manner as hereinbefore described serves to add extra thickness thereto both in fact and in appearonce. The appearance of thickness may be enhanced by making the coating especially thick on the butt portion which is exposed to view when the roof is laid. While the sealing coat to protect the exposed faces and edges tit? of the unit may be applied to material which has already been coated and slated, it is obvious that it may be applied as the first or only coating after the unit has been formed to desired size and shape from saturated or even unsaturated felt. Whether the sealing coat is the first coating applied or is additional to a previous coating, it is preferably protected-by the application of comminuted material which may be grit of any kind, such as crushed slate, sand, gravel, powdered mice or chalk or the like, or if it is desired to plate the unit wholly or partly with metal, electrically conducting granules or powder may be applied. The grit or its equivalent is partially embedded in the coating so that it firmly adheres thereto, but at the same time forms a substantially complete cover for the coating to protect it from deteriorating aotion of the elements, such as surface hardening and checking of exposed asphalt resulting from continued exposure to sunlight.

Another method of thickening units is to cement or otherwise fasten to a sheet of roofin g felt another layer of felt or a layer of any other suitable material before applying the sealing coat. The additional layer of felt or other material may be applied to the whole area of the felt base or to a portion thereof, preferably the butt portion. a

By my invention, I provide means for automatically handling a continuous sheet of roofing felt or equivalent material and automatically performing thereon successive steps of a process which will make the material into thick-butt units, the exposed portions of which are completely sealed and protected. With my apparatus, I preferably start with a roll or other suitable supply of roofing felt which may be unsaturated, saturated or otherwise treated. Starting, for example, with unsaturated felt, I preferably cut out series of suitable slots which will define shingle-simulating tabs in the finished product. The sheet may then be slit, saturated and cooled, the slitting coming before or after the saturating as desired. The width of each of the slitted strips may be equal to' the height of the roofing units to be made therefrom plus that of a marginal portion of the strip, hereinafter referred to as a flap, which is to be progressively folded up'to reinforce and thicken the butt portion of the unit. After the sheet has been slotted, slit and saturated, the flap is preferabl bent back, cementing material is applied t ereto, and the flap is then folded against the strip with the cement between it and the strip. Additional securing means, such as rivets or wire stitching, may be utilized to make a firmer union. The slots and lines of folding are preferably so related that after the flaps 00 have been folded, the slots will form chanwithout first reinforcing the butt, or if detoward the upper edge,

. sired, to the butt portion of each strip, I may progressively secure a narrower reinforcing strip which ma be cemented to the Wider strip and additionally secured as by rivets or stitching with wire or thread.

If, as shown, the sheet is initially supplied in a horizontal position, at some point subsequent to the saturatin and slitting the continuous strips are eac i twisted to a vertical position, with the folded edge down in the event that the strip is folded. Coating material, such as molten blown asphalt or the like, is then applied in any suitable way as by jets to a part or all of one or both faces of each strip, The strip is then. carried along in a substantially vertical position for a short time to permit the coating to flow and drain under the action of gravity and to form a heavy coating of impervious material which will he thickest at the butt edge and will taper The jets for the coating material are preferably disposed so that all the edges of the cut-outs are thoroughly covered with coating and a complete sealing envelope is formed on the lower part of the strip, covering all the edges of the lower portion of the strip and the cut-outs and extending upwardly to the upper limit of application on either side of the strip. If desired, the coating may extend all the way upon both sides, merging at the top edge to cover completely all the surfaces and edges of the strip. lVhile the coating on the strip is still soft and tacky, suitable comminuted material may be applied to one or both sides and the edges. The'comminuted material may be applied while the strip is maintained in its vertical position, or the strip may be twisted back to a substantially horizontal position to facilitate the surfacing operation. The stripmay then be cut into suitable units, the cuts registerin with the cut-outs or slots in the butt portlon so that the cuts will not extend to that part of the unit which is normally exposed to the weather when laid. The unit will thus present a completely protected surface to the weather.

On the drawings Figures 1, 1a and 16, represent diagrammatically apparatus adapted to carry out one method of my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan View of the apparatus shown in Figure 1..

Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus designed to apply cement to the flap as it is being folded.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the slating mechanism included in Figures 1a and 1?).

Figure 5 is a. section on the line 5-5 of Figures 1 and-2.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figures 1a and 3.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7--7 of Figure 1a.

Figure 8 is a section on the Figure 1a.

Figure 9 is a section on the line 99 of Figures 1a and 4.

Figure 10 is an elevation of the press rolls which appear in Figures 1a and 4.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a modified form of slating mechanism.

Figure 12 is a conventional section indicating the structure of a typical product of the apparatus.

In general the machine illustrated in Fig line 88 of ures 1 to 10, which, embodies one form of myinvention, comprises apparatus for operatmg on a continuous sheet of roofing felt or equivalent material, the successive steps including the cutting of slots, slitting the sheet, 1-fsaturating, bending progressively a portion along an edge of each strip to form a line of fold, applying a cementitious material within the fold, completing the fold by bending the folded portion or flap so that it is doubled back against the face of the strip, further securing the flap to the face of the strip as by rivets or equivalent fasteners, twisting the strip to a vertical position with the folded edge downward, applying impervious coating material in liquid form to one or both sides of the vertical strip in such a way that the coating material will flow over and cover all the lower edges of the strip, including all the edges of the slots, applying comminuted material to the coated areas while the coating is still sticky, pressing the comminuted material into firm engagement with the coating, cooling the strip, cutting the strip into units of desired size and shape, and collecting such units for shipment. In describing the apparatus, the various mechanisms will be de scribed in the order in which they appear in Figures 1. 1a and 17) of the drawings, but it is to be understood that the machine is not to be limited to such a sequence, as many of the steps may be carried out in different sequences.

Referring in detail to the drawings 10 rep- I resents a supply of roofing base which may be felt or equivalent material preferably furnished, as shown. in rolls. The roll 10 is preferably mounted on suitable standards so as to deliver the sheet 11 of felt horizontah ly to the slot-cutting device ind cated at 12. A slitter 13 may then operate on the sheet to slit it longitudinally into strips of suitable width, the width of each strip being prefer ably equal to the height of the fin'shed units to be made therefrom plus the height of the flap which is to be folded over to reinforce the butt portion thereof. By cutting the slots in the sheet before it. is saturated. the material cut out from the sheet, being untreated felt, may readily be recovered and returned to the paper machine. A saturating tank is indicated at lei through which the strips may be passed in the path shown. or in any other suitable manner.

the saturant. the excess being pressed out as by rolls 15.

My apparatus further includes strip-bending devices A, each adapted to operate on a pair of strips slit from the sheet and to bend a marginal portion of each progressively with respect to the rest of the strips; cementing devices B to apply cementitious material to the bent portion; folders C to fold the bent portion or flap back against the face of the strip; fastening setters D to sew, rivet or otherwise secure the edge of the flap against the face of the strip with fasteners: coating devices E to apply to the strips liquid coating material; surfacing mechanisms F to apply comminuted material to the coated areas: refrigerators G to cool the strips; and mechanism for cutting and collecting units from the strips.

The bending devices A, one of which is ilillolteit. asphalt or any equivalent may be used as lustrated in the drawings, may operate on the strips to bend flaps, consisting of an edge portion of each strip, to a position approximately at right angles to the remainder of the strip. In Figure 5, a cross section of a bending device is shown, this device being constructed to operate simultaneously on two of the strips. As shown, these strips 16 are passed through suitably formed guiding plates 17, 18, the plate 17 being in the shape of an inverted U having a horizontal portion supporting the adjacent portions of the two strips 16 in a horizontal position. The guiding plate 18 is shaped with edge portions twisted as indicated in Figure 5 so as to constrain the outer edge portions of the strips 16 tobend downwardly to a substantially vertical position as the strips are joined therealong. These downwardly bent portions of the strips constitute the flaps 19 previously referred to. Each strip 16 as it leaves the bending device has an L-shaped cross section and maintains this shape while it is twisted as a whole through 90 degrees in order to bring the main portion thereof into a substantially vertical position, the flap 19 at the same time assuming a horizontal posi tion as shown in Figure 6.

in this position the strips enter a device B where cementitious material, which may be blown asphalt or any other suitable cement in liquid form, may be applied to the face of each flap 19 which is to be folded against a face of its strip 16. As shown in Figure 6,

the liquid cement may be supplied as by suitable jets 20 which may be regulated to deposit sutlicient cement on the flaps. Suitable guide rolls'21 may be mounted so as to guide the strips and a horizontal roll 22 may guide and support the flaps from below. Any excess cementing material which may drip from the flaps may be recoveredas by a pan 2?). As shown in Figure 3, guide rolls 24 may be supported in such a position as to maintain the strips in their l..-sha-ped form as they pass through the cement-applying device B.

After the cement has been applied to the flaps 19. each flap is at once folded up against the face of its strip and pressed thereagainst firmly as by rolls 25. a horizontal guide roll 26 being positioned to support the lower edges of the strips. One or both of each pair of the press rolls are preferably driven, the driven rolls being connected as by suitable gears 27. so as to advance both strips at the same speed. From this point. the mechanisms shown are designed for simplicity oi structure to operate or. a single strip. but it is to be understood that they may readily be extended to be made capable of operating on a plurality of strips simultaneously. Fol lowing the showing in the drawings. the further operations on one of the strips slit from the sheet will be described as typical of all. If desired, the flap which has been folded Sia- the fece the strip be furl e secured by e series of rivets or fastener which may be epplied os by 2. suitable riveting device indicated at D.

The strip may then be led, in a substantially vertical plane, througlrn coating device E as illustrated in Figuredywherein a suitoble liquid compound such as high meltingpoint asphalt in e molten state is projected against one or both faces of the strip as by suitably shaped spouts 29 which may be constructed and positioned to coal bllS entire surface or each face of the strip, or such a portion thereof as may be desired. in order to insure a thorough costing of the cut edges of the slots in the bust portion of the strip, edditionsl spouts 1r sf directed against the lower portion 4 i As the strip is a ,posi" lge, the liquid coatand drain from the feces of the slrio and under the influence of gravity and sur use tension to collect toward the butt edge the strip, the excess costing dripping off and being recovered as e receptacle 31. effect of this dra.in ing is to produ "e a. coo ing of 'aispering thickeout thickest she butt edge of th trip and tapering in i so bond or upper edge of The tliicl c-S of this coating may c led s extent by controlling he materiel supplied, ices winch ere suit forming such a coating very is their inpersture. The butt 2 str: L l the costing menu enisin may be .in o er s suitable wiping de vice such a lioriuon'iel stesrn'pipe which ill remove drippi ins from the butt edge. p cement to the the fold and the rivplsoe while the n substantially A k 1.. u on due sti on rs h the butt ed e fold coui invent ren ers to generically as grit) may be applied to the coated areas. As shown in Figures lb and i, a. suitable belt or conveyor 32 may be led around a guide roll 33 in a horizontal position. This belt 32 is preferably of a. flexible material such as canvas. From the guide roll 33 it is shaped from the horizontal into achannelled form as indicated in Figure 9 as by a pair of Vertical rollers 34 cooperating with a supporting roller 35. During its travel from the roll 33 to the rollare 34-, streams of suitable grit are projected on its surface as by supply pipes 36, 37, 38. The pipe 36 is arranged to direct a. quantity of grit on the middle portion of the belt on which the butt edge of the strip Will engage passes over the roller 35. To support the gritdaden belt a. channel 39 may be locured between the rollers 33 and 34, additional sup orting rolls or rollers being also supplied i desired. As the belt assumes its channeled shape, the grit from spouts 37, which may be positioned on either side of the strip, begins to fill up the spaces between the strip 19 and sides of the belt 32. After the sides of the beltheve assumed a substantially verticsi position, the remaining space between the two sides may be filled up with grit as by the pipe 38. Suitable guide plates 40 may be positioned adjacent the rollers 34 to suslain tbs perpendicular portions of the belt 32 as they ass to a pair of press rolls 4. 1 which are i1 ustrated in Figure 10. The rolls ll serve to press the grit against the coated feces of the strip so that the grit is sufficiently embedded in the coated areas to be firmly attached thereto. From the rolls 41 the belt is allowed to straighten out to a horizontal position again, in which condition it may be passed over a roll 42 and thence returned to the roll 33. Between the rolls 41 and the roll 42, e channelled roll 43 may be supplied to support the grit-laden belt and prevent excessive sagging. The excess grit falls from the belt 32 as it passes around the roll 42 into a suitable receptacle 44 whence it may be recycled through the feed spouts. The strip may then be passed through a cooler generally indicated at G which may be of any-preferred tyne. After leaving the cooler, the strip may twisted into horizontal position and cut into suitable units as by cutters 46, the units successively deposited in a suitable recepts'cle i7.

'- The sheet and the strips slit therefrom may advanced through thevarious steps or opions which have been described by drivi any or all of the various rollers included b said mechanisms. For example, the 'ing rolls, the slitting rolls, the squeeze the folding rolls 25. the press rolls 'he cutters 46 may be synchronously run any suitable source of power, being connected in such a Way as to advance he various portions of the sheet at the same speed. The belt 32 is also preferably advanced at the same speed by driving the rolls 33 and 42.

In the mechanism hereinbefore described, the grit is applied to the coated areas while the strip is maintained in a substantially ver tical position. Satisfactory results, however, can be obtained by twisting the strip from the vertical position in which it receives its coating to a horizontal position for the purpose of being slated. Mechanism for carrying out such a process is illustrated in Figure 11, wherein is indicated the coatiin device 48 which as previously described applies coating material to the moving strip while it is in a vertical position. Upon leaving the coating device. the strip is twisted to a horizontal position, the butt preferably being picked up as by a belt 49 upon which grit is deposited as by suitable supply pipes 50 and 51 so that the butt edge is rounded off and coated with the grit on the belt 49. The lower face of the strip is thereupon received on the layer of grit on the belt 49 as it reaches a horizontal position. The strip may then be led over a grit-depositing device generally indicated at This device may comprise mechanism for depositing or showering intermittently stripes of variously colored grit which may be so arranged that each color will coincide with one of the tabs of the strip. The strip may then be passed between press rolls 53 which are preferably of a tapered form so as to preserve the taper acquired by the coating as her einbefore described. Excess grit may be recovered as by suitable receptacles 54 and 55. The strip may then be led through a suitable cooler and cut up into units as previously described.

In Figure 12 is illustrated conventionally in cross section an example of the types of finished products which may be produced by my machine. 56 represents the felt base which has preferably been saturated as described. 57 represents the flap of roofing base which has been bent up and folded against the strip 56, being preferably secured thereto by a thin layer 58 of cementitious ma terial, such as blown asphalt, and if desired, a series of rivets. one of which is indicated at 59. The impervious coating 60 is shown as completely enveloping the entire unit. By arranging the spouts 29 which project coating material against the faces of the strip, the coating 60 ma be carried up to any desired point below the upper edge of the strip. Under the action of gravity, while the strip is maintained in a vertical position, the coating 60 tends to fiow and gather toward the butt end of the shingle, thus becoming thickest in the vicinity of the butt edge and tapering toward the head as is indicated in the figure. The final outside surfacing of grit or other comminuted material is indicated at 61, 62, these layers being of the same or different materials as desired.

By my invention I have thus provided a machine which is capable of taking raw roofing felt and carrying this material through successive steps of treatment automatically to a finished product which is collected in units ready for shipment. It is clear that many of the steps illustrated and described may be rearranged in a different order from that shown, also that some of the steps may be omitted altogether or modified within the scope of the invention to produce finished products of slightly different forms. For example, the sheet of felt may be slitted into strips, the width. of which is equal to the height of the finished shingle strip, and be formed with tabs or projections of any dosirable configuration. In such a case the 0 erations of bending, folding and riveting tl fe marginal edges may be omitted, the strip being passed between the coating spouts as a single layer in a vertical position. It is also obvious that the final surfacing material may be applied in a great variety of ways, both as to color effects and as to quality of material used. It may also, for example, be applied to the butt edge and the exposed or upper face of the finished strip, while the under or lower face of the strip may be left Without surfacing material or may be dusted with a powdered chalk or mica. Whatever final finishing effect may be applied, the resulting shingle strip will have a substantial appearance due to its thickened butt and a tapering coatof linpervious material which will com-- pletely seal and protect the portion of the shmgleexposed to the weather when laid, this protecting coat being extended if desired to cover the entire surface.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the apparatus described which will be within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Steps in the method of making roofing elements which comprise causing a portion of a continuous strip of coated roofing material to travel lengthwise and in a vertical plane, and applying comminuted material to said vertical portion of the strip.

2. The method of making roofing elements which comprises causing a portion of a continuous strip of roofing material to travel horizontally lengthwise and in a vertical plane, and successively applying liquid coating material and comminuted surfacing material to said portion.

3. The method of making roofing elements which comprises slitting a substantially horizontal traveling sheet into longitudinal strips, twisting a portion of each of said strips individually to a substantially vertical position, and applying coating material to the vertical portions of said strips along lines substantially above the lower edges of said portions.

4. The method of making roofing elements which comprises slitting a substantially horizontal traveling sheet of roofing material into longitudinal strips, twisting a portion of each of said strips into a substantially ver tical position, and successively applying liquid coating material and comminuted material to side'faces of the vertical portions of said strips.

5. The method of making roofing units which comprises saturating a continuous traveling sheet of roofing base, slitting the sheet into continuous strips, supporting a length of each traveling strip vertically on edge, applying liquid coating material to said lengths while so supported along lines substantially above their lower edges, surfac ng the'coated areas with comminuted material, and cutting each strip into roofing units.

6. The method of making roofing elements which comprises slitting a substantially horizontal traveling sheet of roofing material into longitudinal strips, twisting each of said strips into a substantially vertical position, successively applying liquid coating material and grit to vertical portions of the travellng strips along lines substantially above their lower edges, twisting sa d strips to a substantially horizontal position, and cutting elements therefrom.

7. The method of making roofing units which comprises folding a flap alongan edge of a strip of roofing felt back against the strip with a layer of cementitious material between the flap and strip, and further securing the flap against the strip with fasteners extending into said flap and strip.

8. The method of making roofing units which comprises cutting series of slots in a continuous sheet of roofing base, slitting the sheet into continuous strips, each strip hav ng one series of said slots, saturating the strips with waterproofing compound, folding an edge portion of each strip back against the strip, the line of fold extending transversely of said slots, interposing a layer of cementitious material between the folded portion and the strip, supporting a length of the folded strip vertically on edge with the folded edge lowermost, applying liquid coating material to the length of strip so supported, allowing said coating material to drain toward the lower edge of the strip, applying comminuted material to the coated areas, and cutting units from the strip.

9. The method of making roofing elements which comprises supporting a portion of a continuous travelling strip of roofing materi al vertically on edge, progressively applying liquid oating material to the strip while so supported-,twisting progressively the coated f'said strip to horizontal position,

portiono and applying comminuted material to the strip while in said horizontal position.

10. The method of making roofing elements which comprises cutting a substantially horizontal sheet into longltudinal strips, twisting each of said strips to a vertical position, applying liquid coating material to the portion of said strips in vertical position along lines substantially above the lower edges thereof, then twisting-the coated stri portions to horizontal position, applying grit to said strip portions in horizontal position, and cutting elements from said strips.

11. The method of making roofing elements which comprises cutting a substantially horizontal sheet into longitudinal strips, twisting each of'said strips to a substantially vertical position, applying liquid coating ma terial to the strips while in vertical position, then twisting each strip to a substantially horizontal position, receiving each strip on a supporting layer of rit, showering grit on the upper surfaces 0% the strips, pressing the faces of said strips, and cutting elements therefrom.

12. In a machine of the class described, means for supplying a sheet of roofing material of indefinite length, means for cutting a series of slots in said sheet, means for slitting said sheet into longitudinal strips, means for saturating said strips with waterproofing material, means for bending a marginal portion of one of said strips, the line of bend extending transversely of the slots in said strip, means for applying cementitious material Within the bend, means for folding the marginal portion along the line of bend against a face of the strip, means for securing fasteners through said strip and folded back portion, means for supportin a length of the folded strip vertically on e ge with the folded edge lowermost, means for applying coating material to a face of the strip where so supported, means for applying comminuted material to the coated areas, means for ressing said comminuted material into firm adhesive contact with the coating, means for cooling the strip, and means for cutting individual units from the strip.

13. In a machine of the class described, means for applying tacky coating material to a strip of roofing base. means for supporting said coated str1p vertically on edge, and means for surrounding said coated strip to a predetermined extent with comminuted material and pressing said comminuted material against the coated areas while the strip is in vertical position.

14. In a machine of the class described, means for feeding a transversely vertical strip of roofing base in a horizontal direction, means for projecting a stream of liquid coating material against a face of said strip,

a flexible conveyor, means for shaping said 1 conveyor into channelled form containing a length of said strip, means for feeding comminuted material into said channelled conveyor on both sides and beneath said strip, means for applying pressure externally to the sides of said channelled conveyor, and means for conducting said strip out from the channel of said conveyor.

15. Steps in the method of making prepared roofing, which comprise cutting a sheet 01 roofing material lengthwise into strips each having a notched edge, advancing each strip with its notched edge in a lower plane than its opposite edge and free, applying liquid weatherprooiing composition to a face of the traveling strip so that the composition will flow toward the free lower edge and cover the same.

16. A method of making roofing elements which consists in longitudinally slitting a continuously advancing strip of felt, in notching one edge of the slitted strip, in ositioning the strip whereby the notched e go is at a substantially lower plane than the opposite edge thereof, in coating one face of the strip with a waterproofing material when in such position, in thereafter applying comminuted granular material to the coated surface of the strip.

17. A method of making roofing elements which consists in longitudinally slitting a continuously advancing strip of felt, in notching one edge of the slitted strip, in positioningthe strip whereby the notched edge is at a substantially lower plane than the opposite edge thereof, in coating one face of the strip with a waterproofin material when in such position, in therea ter applying comminuted granularmaterial to the coated surface of the strip by bringing the coated surface of the strip into contact with the grit while the strip and the grit are advancing in the same plane, and in thereafter cutting the strip into shingle elements.

18. In the art of making prepared shingles, the steps which comprise, as a continuous process, notching an edge of roofing stock, of loosely matted and porous character, advancing the thus notched strip through successive zones of asphaltic saturation and asphaltic coating whereby the notched edges of the strip are sealed and finally subdividing the advancing strip of material to form shingles of the desired length.

19. A continuous process of the character described, comprising the steps of supporting a continuous strip of roofing material, of loosely matted and porous character, advancing the strip continuously, subjecting the advancing strip to the successive steps of notching, saturation and coating and maintaining the strip in such a position that one edge thereof will be in a plane lower than the other edge whereby to permit said coating to flow toward the lower notched edge of the advancing strip to seal the same against weather deterioration.

20. A continuous method for making roofing units, the steps which comprise supporting a length of a continuous strip of roofing base, of a loosely matted and orous character, and advancing the same orizontally, notching the roofing material durin its advancement and thereafter subjectln the notched roofin strip to a zone wherein saturation takes p ace, thence to a zone wherein coating with a relatively heavier material takes place and to a grit applying zone and finally subdividing the thus saturated coated and gritted strip to form shingles of the desired length.

21. A method of making tapered, sealed edged roofing elements, comprising the steps of continuously advancing a strip of porous, loosely matted stock, in a horizontal direction, notching the slot during its advance ment to form shin le simulating tabs alon an edge thereof, su jecting the thus notched strip to a bath of light asphaltic saturating material to saturate the strip, coating, with a heavier asphaltic material, portions of said strip whereby to seal the ex ed notched edges thereof, maintainin t e advancing strip with the notched edge thereof at a plane lower than the upper edge thereof,

whereby to cause the coating material to gravitate downwardly and form a tapered coating and applying grit to the thus coated strip during its advancing movement,

In testimony whereof I have afined my signature.

FREDERICK C. OVERBURY. 

